It is a fact universally acknowledged that stuff I whine about and put off and dread doing is usually not as bad as I think it's going to be.  For example, it takes less than 10 minutes to brush my teeth, floss, wash my face and moisturize before bed.  But, sometimes it seems like too much trouble. 

For another example, doing something creative is often less painful than I expect it to be.  We "inherited" a mirror from my husband's parents.  I don't think it's particularly precious, but it is particularly heavy.  It's about 3.5 feet by 2 feet and the frame is painted an interesting speckled green.  It hung in the foyer of my dear in laws home in Nashville and in the tiny, dark entry of our home in Birmingham.  Since then, it's followed us from state to state, never to show it's face again.  I did prop it against the wall in Nebraska and think hard about hanging it in the foyer there, but never did.  So, it's funny that after living in my present home for just 5 months, it already has pride of place opposite the front door.

I've put off hanging it in other places because it's so big and heavy.  I'm afraid it's going to awaken us in the depths of night by crashing to the floor.  And, though it has a regal sort of beauty, I'm not crazy about it.  I have grand ideas of painting the frame, but haven't gotten around to it.  Then, in a flash of brilliance, a motivating idea came into play.

I would give credit for this to someone, but I can't remember where I saw it or read about it.  I didn't pin it on pintrest and I don't think there's a magazine page folded down anywhere.  But, I'm sure the idea isn't original.

Here's the deal, I should paint a quote on it.  Simple.  So, why did it take me years to do it?

I could say I did it in stages - 1. Get an idea, 2.  Gather supplies,  3.  Execute idea.  But, that's not what happened.  I just needed the motivation to get it done and don't know why it happened just now, exactly.  It happened just after a visit from those dear in laws, but not before.  Weird, I know.

Also, it's not finished.  I didn't paint the frame.  I just bought paint pens (a long time ago), came up with a great quote, painted the quote on and hung the gigantic mirror up.

Maybe it's because I just had knee surgery.  I've got a new knee, so I can check that off my list and get on to other stuff.  I don't know.

After getting my kids to lay the mirror on the kitchen table, it took me about 6 minutes to decide which color paint pen to use (purple), basically block out where the words would go (they ended up slightly crooked), and paint it on.  It took another 6 minutes for my strong, curl-headed boy to help me carry the mirror to the front door, eyeball where I wanted the Hercules hooks to go, hang the mirror, realize the hooks were too low, reinsert hooks and rehang.  It took an additional 5 minutes to do a happy, hurt knee dance and get Bobby to the front door to admire my handy work.  He also ate up a minute or two pretending that I had misspelled something.

So, all added up, it took way less than an hour to execute the plan, but literal years to agonize over how to get it done.  And, I LOVE it.

Growing up, my husband had a neighbor named Amy Ashcraft.  Way ahead of her time, young Amy had a catch phrase.  She would say, "Bobby Britton, you is smart and goo-oo-od lookin too!"  The phrase stuck in Bobby's family and in Bobby's mind and he continues to use it off and on.  We still use it in our family when someone does something particularly noteworthy.  "Davis, go put your baseball stuff in the van.  I already did, Mom.  Wow!  Davis Britton, you is smart and goo-oo-od lookin too!"

So, that's what I painted on the mirror.  "You is smart and goo-oo-od lookin too!"  It makes me happy to know that anyone coming or going from my front door will receive that positive message.  It makes me laugh and it warms my heart.

So, why in tarnation did I not do it earlier?!!

It's like dreading washing the dishes or cleaning the shower.  The dread is much worse than the activity.  Nike says "just do it" and I suppose they're right.  I don't think we ever end up saying, "Man, I wish I had put off cleaning out the refrigerator just a little longer."  So, it is a fact universally acknowledged....

What have you been putting off?